Announcing the Healthcare Team (Again)

Well it's official, again.  We have a new nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Today, as expected, President Barack Obama officially nominated Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

HHS is an enormous department, including FDA, CMS, CDC, NIH, and the Office of Public Health and Science--just to name a few--and Sebelius will be responsible for implementing the President's healthcare vision.  If you think about it, she is in charge of disease prevention, intervention, and innovation--the three things that might just help us out of our healthcare mess if we give them the right attention!

As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebelius "will work with Democrats and Republicans alike to cut costs, expand access, and improve the quality of healthcare for all Americans."

It is a huge task, but Sebelius seems prepared for it.

The President also named Nancy-Ann DeParle, one of the nation's leading experts on healthcare and regulatory issues, as Counselor to the President and Director of the White House Office for Health Reform.  From the White House press release:

"As commissioner of the Department of Human Services in Tennessee, she saw firsthand the health care system's impact on workers and families. In the Clinton Administration, DeParle handled budget matters for federal health care programs, and took on the tremendous task of managing Medicare and Medicaid."

It's a huge issue, and we wish both of them the best of luck--with the hope that they focus on what is really driving our health problems and healthcare costs...chronic diseases.